Consumers have different tastes and preferences as to what makes a feeder most attractive, both to themselves when viewing the birds at the feeder and to hummingbirds who must be drawn to the feeder by its appearance. In many cases, hummingbird feeders have red components as red is known to be attractive to hummingbirds. However, different feeding port enhancements may be used that include artificial flowers of various colors, shapes and textures that simulate the flowers from which hummingbirds would naturally feed. As a result, the traditional hummingbird feeder market has evolved from a few basic models into a choice of a large number of different feeders. A similar complexity has developed in the market for seed bird feeders as these feeders may also be designed in a number of different ways. Thus, in response to evolving consumer tastes and demands and competitive pressures within the bird feeder market, bird feeder manufacturers are compelled to continuously create new feeder designs in order to provide a wide selection for the consumer.
Whenever the design of a bird feeder is changed, new parts must be created and different tooling must be produced for each of the new feeder parts. The new parts must then be manufactured and inventoried. In addition, different packaging designs are needed to accommodate the different feeder styles. As a result, the manufacturer faces higher costs for labor, material, handling and inventory, and the retailer must manage and organize a large number of different feeders for display and sale.
In addition, the variety of feeder designs presents the consumer with differently shaped liquid/seed reservoirs and differently configured bases and feed ports. In some cases, the consumer may prefer the base design of one feeder while liking the reservoir shape that is incorporated within another feeder. This leaves the consumer with the need to choose between two features that are both desired but which are not available in the same feeder.
Therefore, a need exists for a system and method of producing and marketing a variety of different bird feeder designs having different appearances and styles by variously combining interchangeable components drawn from a shared set of parts so as to best fulfill the consumer's desires while also reducing manufacturing and retailing burdens that result from multiple independent feeder designs.